


hocus, pocus, with you i can't focus

by aurora_fever



Series: matz all the way [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Crack, Hongjoong is whipped, M/M, Romantic Comedy, a dash of sexual tension, fae seonghwa, failed potion making, naiads and dryads, seonghwa is soft and adorable, the one where hongjoong uses a ramen cooker to brew a potion, the rest of ateez are mentioned, warlock Hongjoong, yunho is the chaotic roommate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurora_fever/pseuds/aurora_fever
Summary: "you're...you're using a ramen cooker to make the spell?" seonghwa looks at him worriedly.alternatively: hongjoong's cute fae neighbor asks him to make a confidence potion and things don't go as planned. sort of.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: matz all the way [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920337
Comments: 4
Kudos: 205





	hocus, pocus, with you i can't focus

**Author's Note:**

> this is just one of the many seongjoong shorts ill be writing to promote main story. I’m going to be honest im not actually familiar how these fantasy creatures work but I did my best! please leave some love and comments ♡ it would motivate me to write lots, enjoy! stream thanxx
> 
> fae – mythical creature with supernatural charms and power and usually have pointed ears
> 
> warlock – male witch
> 
> naiad – water spirit

hongjoong is not what you would call the best warlock in their side of town.

firstly, he's not doing very great on his classes. always adding the wrong material on the flasks in potions class, spacing out on his wand waving exercises, or caught chitchatting with wooyoung in the middle of lectures. not like it’s his fault the dryad has some new gossip to share 24/7.

don’t get him wrong, he has above average intellect, it’s just that there’s a lot going on with his life with business and friends all getting in the way with college.

but hongjoong’s official flag of being notorious was after _the incident_ —as his friends loved to call it—wherein he set his last apartment on fire after brewing the wrong spell that summoned a demon who terrorized the entire complex for at least a week. naturally, he's kicked out there and is forced to move midsemester somewhere where the word about his iconic mishap hasn't spread.

he also set up a little spell making business to get by which just added to his daily workload. six out of ten times the warlock would successfully conjure the potions his customers would request but the rest of the time, well, let's just blame it on his lack of sleep why his customers dwindled within each passing week.

so again, hongjoong is _not_ the best warlock at all. which is why it's a big surprise when there's a knocking on his door in a weekend morning when he’s supposed to catch some sleep. he’s in the middle of finishing another order when hongjoong hears the knock come.

it couldn't be yunho because his stupidly tall and perfect roomie always has some loud announcement of his grand return. not his trusty friends because they don't even bother knocking and just blast in his apartment like they own the place. and it’s definitely not a customer because he’s half sure he heard some neighbors gossip about _the incident_ yesterday and his reputation might be as well thrown in the sewer. so that leaves him with deliverymen or robber.

either way what kind of poor soul wandered into this sorry warlock’s humble abode?

although hesitant, hongjoong opens the door. he opens it after the second set of knocks and all remnants of drowsiness dissolve in thin air when he sees that standing there isn't a deliveryman, nor a robber—but the most beautiful creature he has ever laid eyes on and he promptly gasps at the sight of the unexpected visitor.

"hi." the very pretty man smiles.

it's his next door neighbor, seonghwa. how could he not know the man? seonghwa is the literal embodiment of a god. an angel. and he’s out here in front of him gracing him with his gorgeous presence. on the rare occassions he'd seen the fae take out the trash, or play with some young dryads in the park across the street, he always finds himself staring longingly at his ethereal beauty.

safe to say he's been harboring a crush the size of yeosang's ego on the fae for at least two months since he moved in.

seonghwa smiles again, "good morning. uhm, you're a warlock right?"

"i do."

"what?"

fuck, this isn't their wedding yet. hongjoong clears his throat. "i mean, yes. and you're seonghwa right? you live next door?"

"that's me." his neighbor nods. wow, he’s just _wow._ "c-can i have a potion made? It’s sort of an emergency."

_oh._

"can you excuse me for a second?"

there's a confused look on seonghwa's face as hongjoong softly closes the door.

hongjoong doesn't normally shut doors on his crush's face when they come to him for help but the warlock thinks this deserves a moment, so he takes the opportunity to let out a silent scream and does an ungraceful celebratory dance. he probably looks like a seal having a seizure but hongjoong doesn’t care and continues his silent cry of joy.

okay, calm down hongjoong this is fine. it's totally fine.

he does one last check on his apartment. yeah, nope this is not gonna work. the entire room looked like a storm just bypassed it so hongjoong quickly kicks the unwashed clothes under the couch and sprays some glade. once satisfied, he opens the door again.

"oh, i thought..." seonghwa rubs his arm, "i thought you didn't want to."

"no! I'm sorry i had to take care some stuff." like his emotions. "come in, please."

seonghwa invites himself in and the warlock only notices how the fae was an inch taller than him. but he looks so soft wearing that oversized sweater and beret that hongjoong resists the urge to coddle him up. seonghwa has sweater paws too and he wants to cry.

"how can i help you?" he asks casually, like he isn’t ready to capture the fucking moon for this man.

"i need a confidence potion." seonghwa is straight to the point. just his type of men. “anything to calm my nerves will do.”

“a confidence potion?” hongjoong asks again. it’s been a while since he touched those kind of potions.

seonghwa nods. "i uhm, have this really important presentation tomorrow and i always fuck up because im nervous and i honestly don't know what to do. ill pay you double! wait i dont actually have that much on me right now but if—"

"hey it's okay." hongjoong chuckles. "it's on the house."

the look of distress on seonghwa's face melts. "you'd do that?"

hongjoong feels his knees giving up at the smile. "o-of course. let me just—"

a confidence potion, yes, hongjoong got this. normally, he should charge seonghwa at least half of the price but this is _seonghwa_ we’re talking about. and hongjoong is weak. so he quickly gets on his feet and takes out a pot—yes the one they use to cook ramen when their friends sleep over—and places it on top of their stove.

"you're...you're using a ramen cooker?" seonghwa asks worriedly.

"uhm, my friend yunho borrowed my cauldron so we just have to make do with this. don't worry, it doesn't change the spell." hongjoong assures right away.

to be honest, hongjoong isn’t 100% sure if that's true. but he recalls that one video tutorial where they used kitchenware to brew some spells and though he didn't get to finish said video, it should still work right?

the warlock opens his spell book—the one he begged his yeosang for a discount—and hongjoong is slightly embarrassed by the sheen of dust that flies in the air when he spreads it on the table. it's been a while since he opened it. though that doesn't say anything about his unparalleled skill in potion crafting so he gets on his game face on to show seonghwa that he's got this. he really does!

"good thing i still got this bad boy to help me." hongjoong whips out his wand proudly. "confidence, confidence, let's see..."

a pair of moth wings, fairy dust infused oil, a dollop of troll wax and a lock of hair from the one requesting for the confidence. oh. well that was simpler than expected. thank god his brother jongho forced him to go shopping for supplies last week because hongjoong just happens to have everything in his drawer right now.

seonghwa was still standing on the same spot, seemingly impressed with the way he moves around the room. ha, that's right he's making a bomb first impression on his crush, what have you all been doing?

"is there anything i can do to help?" the fae asks, his soft-looking brown hair bouncing. fuck he's hot and helpful. hongjoong is melting as he pours some water on the pot.

"y-you can get me the fairy oil on that shelf."

seonghwa starts walking to other side of the room where his fairy oil collection is stocked. "what color exactly?"

what color? there's nothing written on his supposedly helpful spell book so he concentrates and tries to recall what he remembered from potions class. red is for love, yellow for happiness, blue for sadness and pink is for...

"i think it's the pink one."

"you think?" there's a hint of concern laced on the fae's voice.

"i mean the pink one! i'm sure, yeah." hongjoong answers with more confidence this time. it _should_ be the pink one.

he picks up the moth wings from his supplies. it was deteriorating slightly on the edges but it's the only one he got so he throws it on the pot of gradually boiling water. next, a dollop of troll wax. He reaches up for one of the tinted jars hongjoong suddenly remembers he still needs the wax tomorrow for one of his classes and unfortunately barely has any left.

"here you go." seonghwa hands him the small bottle. "you got quite a lovely collection of fairy dusts there."

an enchanting smile is flashed on his way. hongjoong knows it's stupid, but it's probably seonghwa's toothy smile and compliment that made him scoop the remaining troll wax on the jar and drop it on the boiling mix. well, fuck Mr Lee's class. guess he'll just have to ask from mingi tomorrow.

“so do i have to drink this or something?”

"i can make it in spray form if you want." hongjoong suggests, to which the other nods.

he does a little stir of his wand on the pot and the ingredients seems to be coming together when a puff of glowing mist comes out from it. so far everything is looking, so that’s a good sign. damn he’s actually doing pretty well, maybe all he needed is a muse to get his shit together. hongjoong nods in satisfaction once the mist disappears and the pot shows a clear mixture once again.

then for the final product, the warlock picks up a pair of scissors.

"uhm, im gonna need some of your hair. do you mind?"

"oh, go ahead."

hongjoong approaches him, and sweet mother of god seonghwa looks even prettier up close. seonghwa is a whole angel with his fair skin, cherry kissed lips and the most enchanting pair of eyes he has ever seen. they're the color of the coffee that calms him after a long day, a soft caramel that has his heart beating a little fast. the fae also has the softest hair he has ever laid hands on. it’s crazy how he’s still standing this close to the man of his romantic fantasies and he’s still not having a cardiac arrest.

"there you go." hongjoong snips away and briefly shows the hair he just taken to it's owner before throwing it into the pot.

hongjoong doesn't exactly know if dyed hair would make a difference but he adds it to the cauldron anyway. the instant it did, the pot emits a strong energy that radiates in the room. it's enough to send their hair flying back a little but fortunately the pot stays intact on the stove which has him sighing in relief. phew. thank god that didn't explode.

"woah..." the colors reflected on the fae's eyes prettily as seonghwa looks down. "how long does this usually take?" seonghwa peers again through the pot curiously. he's adorable. park seonghwa is fucking adorable.

"about five minutes." hongjoong answers confidently. at least that's what he remembers from his class which he almost failed last season, but seonghwa doesn't need to know that.

there’s a comfortable silence as they watch the boil together. and hongjoong tries hard not to seem obvious as fuck as he glances at seonghwa from time to time. seonghwa is nothing short of mesmerized at the color show his concoction is making on the pot and that’s when it dawns to him this is probably his last and only chance to interact with the fae so he's going to make it worth it.

"so..." hongjoong starts, "you're a fae, right?"

seonghwa raises a brow. "how did you know?"

oh god. stalker alert, abort mission, abort mission.

"i just uhm, heard from the tenants here, also your ears." hongjoong panickly points to the other's ears.

"oh, right." seonghwa brushes his fingers to his pointed ears. it's supposed to be just a harmless self conscious act but it has hongjoong gulping. "yep, im a fae! don't worry though i have my charms put off with some hiding mist for business purposes."

it’s common knowledge that faes are known to have irresistible charms. meet the devious ones and they’ll have you wrapped all around their finger without you even knowing it. seonghwa is too nice to have his off because all hongjoong is thinking is if seonghwa dulled his charms with mist and still manages to look this insanely hot, then he can't imagine how breathtaking the fae will be in his full form.

"what's your special power?" hongjoong asks, genuinely curious about the guy in front of him.

seonghwa smiles tightly at the question. "my mom is a naiad, so i can like control water sometimes, like this."

seonghwa draws a finger in thin air. the warlock flinches when the water from his faucet suddenly flows out. hongjoong nods impressively before seonghwa turns it off with another gesture. he prays the fae didn't see the unwashed plate by the sink courtesy of one slob roommate jung yunho.

"that's about it." seonghwa shrugs. "i mean it's not much but i guess the owners here gave me a rent discount for fixing the pipes."

honjoong senses the slight depreciation on the other's voice. he knows it's out of place of him to point out but it's like seonghwa is downplaying himself a lot.

"you did that?" hongjoong lets out a small clap. "that's so cool, really! i mean i can't even go out of ships because I’m scared of the ocean. us witches rely mostly on spells from our wands for our powers so it must be awesome to actually control water naturally."

seonghwa's smile becomes wider, and his chuckles sounded like wind chimes on a breezy summer. "you really think so?"

"trust me. it's pretty cool seonghwa."

hongjoong dismisses the slight tinge of pink on the other's face as just a reflection of the potion brewing between them. which reminds him, the concoction should be done by now.

the mix fades to pink. blue then purple. it didn't take long before it's a whole cacophony of colors glowing and with a final stir of the warlock's wand it emits a puff of smoke, signifying its finish.

hongjoong opens a shelf to take out his precious glass spray bottle—yes the one he spent his savings on—because hongjoong's trying to impress his crush here and he can't just use his old bottles. that would be totally uncool. his little plan seemed to work when seonghwa gapes at the majestic looking bottle which he fills to brim with the liquid on the pot.

"there we go." hongjoong faces seonghwa, who’s looking at him excitedly.

“oh my god thank you so much. really, you don’t know how much this means to me. thank you hongjoong. you’re the best!’

for the first time after a long time, hongjoong actually believes him. he just made a potion without setting his kitchen into smithereens _and_ impressed seonghwa.

“don’t get too excited.” he laughs out, but really deep inside he’s overflowing with the happy hormones. “now close your eyes, let’s test it out first to make sure I made it right.”

seonghwa obediently does so. and fuck, this moment looks like one of those cheesy dramas he watched where the lead actor closes his eyes waiting for a _kiss_ and the protagonist coolly leans over to do so but hongjoong reminds himself that this is still business and he should still at least keep _some_ of his personal emotions away from it.

he pumps the spray all over his face three times. wait, is it five? he pumps it _five_ times and the liquid sparkles a little as it hits seonghwa’s face.

"how is it do you feel any different."

seonghwa blinks, then pouts. "not yet. maybe it will take a while."

"hmm, let me see if i have something to speed it up."

hongjoong rummages through his drawers again. surely there should be some speed elixir somewhere. at least he didn’t destroy seonghwa’s face with the potion, so that’s a start. for a moment there he overthought of the possible scenario he’ll give his crush warts on his very pretty face, but he didn’t and that’s a feat alone itself. so hongjoong resumes looking for that elixir that will confirm he’s a hundred percent successful for the day.

"joongie..."

hongjoong turns around at the call of the nickname. but when he does his jaw drops at the sight of sweaty seonghwa freeing the first two buttons of his sweater.

“are you alright seonghwa? is it working?”

"joongie, help me, please help me."

hongjoong runs to the fae. fuck what has he done. he didn't actually poison seonghwa did he? seonghwa opens his mouth and the warlock feels his soul leave his body when seonghwa sticks out his tongue to lick his bottom lip sensuously.

“seonghwa, do you feel confident now?” hongjoong starts rubbing circles on the fae’s back, but suddenly there’s a set of hands that curl on them hem on his shirt and he's pulled in until their faces are a breadth apart.

"kiss me joongie."

what the flying fuck.

"seonghwa...what?"

"kiss me, c'mon need you to kiss me."

don't get him wrong he would love to kiss the living daylights out his crush, especially if he’s _begging_ for it like right now, but seonghwa looked nothing like himself. hongjoong notices the fae’s eyes were a sparkly golden brown and his hair is showing a faint blue hue. there's an irresistible allure that's drawing him in. like his seonghwa’s full fae form had just been activated.

fuck, fuck, fuck what has he done.

hongjoong quickly frees himself from seonghwa's grasp and runs to the other side.

"oh my god, seonghwa, fuck, this is going to sound crazy but you're not yourself right now."

"no..." seonghwa drawls. "I’ve never been myself so bad. i want you to kiss me. please, pretty please."

the fae moves deliberately to his direction and hongjoong quickly moves on his feet to avoid him. crap, he fucked the potion didn’t he. whatever spell hongjoong sprayed on him is causing seonghwa to act like this. seonghwa is looking at him sharply with a tantalizing smirk on his face, almost like a predator on his prey.

when hongjoong wished his crush would finally chase after him he didn't mean literally run after him around his own apartment begging him for a kiss.

"fuck, seonghwa stop chasing me!" hongjoong begs. they’re in a position where the kitchen island is conveniently separating them. "this is fucked. oh my god, i broke you."

"yes baby break me. id love that." seonghwa hollers and the warlock just knows they weren't talking about the same thing.

"listen, i need you to take a deep breath and drink some of ugh," he picks up the first elixir behind him and flashes it in front of the fae. "this."

the fae doesn’t listen when he makes an act of pouncing on him so hongjoong settles with spraying it on his face instead. it seemed to work when seonghwa stops on his tracks and dazedly shakes his head. but suddenly his devastatingly handsome face contorts into a grimace then in the next second, tears start flowing out of his eyes. what the fuck.

"im sad.” seonghwa cries, “you hate me. everyone hates me."

"seonghwa..." hongjoong softens. oh my god he's crying. seonghwa is crying and it's all because of him. "i don't hate you. hey, don't cry."

"i'm just a useless water fae. i can't even control my powers properly. and now i have this stupid report tomorrow and I’m not ready yet to demo. m-my powers hate me. y-you hate me!”

seonghwa is sobbing relentlessly. this time hongjoong doesn’t think twice before approaching him and start patting his back, a little unsure of what he’s doing. "no, you're not that! you’re a great fae and I would never hate you! seonghwa please calm down…”

"is it because I’m too ugly. i'm so ugly am i?"

"no that's not true! you're the most beautiful fae I’ve ever met.”

"i-i am?" seonghwa sniffles, looking up to him.

hongjoong wipes a tear from his face. “you are.”

then as if a switch flipped again, a sly smirk creeps up seonghwa's face. well shit, what kind of potion did he accidentally whip up to give this sudden mood change. the fae's hair fade to a shade midnight blue as his eyes became an even more golden. yep this is bad. this is _really_ bad.

"joongie, come on. i thought you found me beautiful. just kiss me a little." seonghwa says sultrily and fuck is it possible to be turned on while scared.

with his state, seonghwa looked so intimidating that it has hongjoong retreating his steps to the bedroom. there's a strong energy surrounding their room with every step of the fae. the liquid in the cauldron is vibrating. there's water flowing from every faucet in the house. heck there's even water coming out from their bathroom. hongjoong just thinks how much this will tax later on their water bills.

"seonghwa listen," he gulps, “i-I fucked up the spell and if you could just sit and down i could return you back to normal. please? you don't know what you’re saying."

"but i do." seonghwa snickers. "i feel so hot all over joongie, come to me and make it feel better." the fae starts trailing his fingers over his very exposed collarbones and hongjoong only realized then that a neck can apparently look so enticing.

the back of his knees hits the bed and he's forced to lie down. seonghwa doesn’t skip a breath and gets on top of him and trust him he imagined this scenario _a lot_ , but with a completely different emotion. not knowing else what to do, hongjoong puts his hand in between them in an attempt to stop the other.

"just a harmless kiss." seonghwa feigns a pout. "want to feel you against me so bad."

“oh my god…”

seonghwa slowly starts to lean forward and fuck, he's really going to do it.

the warlock turns his head to the side and that's when he sees the sleeping powder on his drawer. he always kept one by his bed so he could get some guaranteed shut eye after days of coffee-induced all nighters. hongjoong reaches out until he's got a handful of the blue powder and looks back at the fae on top of him.

"i’m so sorry for this." hongjoong takes a deep breath, closes his eyes before sprinkling the sleeping dust all over seonghwa’s face.

the effect is immediate when seonghwa dozes off, falling right on top of him. the water stops flowing, the faucets stop leaking and the air around them is still once more. hongjoong heaves a sigh of relief and lets himself lie down with seonghwa's sleeping body still on him.

once calmed down, he gently tosses the fae over and the guilt sinks to him like the fucking meteor that destroyed the earth years ago. fuck, that really just happened.

hongjoong gets up and stares at the fae sleeping peacefully on his bed and just when he thought the worse is over, seonghwa flinches and throws up all over his shirt.

well that's going to be a bitch to clean.

* * *

it's about an hour later when seonghwa stirs from his deep sleep. hongjoong is still running through the clusterfuck of events that happened the last hour.

first, hongjoong performed the hardest test of his will to change seonghwa out of his vomit soiled sweater. despite being slightly taller, he discovers the fae has a small frame—he was looking respectfully, he promises—which made hongjoong's hoodie perfect on him.

as a precaution he also ties the fae's hands on the headboard in case seonghwa is still the sexually rabid creature that chased after him so there's that too...

next, hongjoong made an effort to clean the mess he made. for the sake of his sanity, he ignores the splatters of potion mix that’s all over the kitchen courtesy of seonghwa and him chasing around the room earlier and focuses on the simpler task of tending the wet floors. thank god the sleeping powder worked instantly or else their entire apartment could've been flooded and the warlock doesn't really want to be kicked out again.

seonghwa downplayed his abilities _a lot._

lastly, it only sinks to him after mopping that _fuck_ , he really fucked this up bigtime. not only did he screw up another potion which is bad publicity for his already shitty business, but he also screwed up with seonghwa.

so fast forward to now: hongjoong is crouching on the corner of his room when he notices seonghwa stir up. the fae groans as he scans the room, and for a moment he looks so endearing freshly woken up until seonghwa's eyes widen like saucers at the realization he’s very much tied on someone else’s bed, wearing someone else’s clothes.

"w-what did you do!" the fae cries, and he glances between his bound hands and hongjoong. "what, what’s happening, why am I tied up!"

hongjoong holds up his hand defensively. "i didn't take advantage of you, i swear. it's not what you think it is."

seonghwa just panics more. “I’m, I’m tied up! oh my god, you're a crazy man. no, don’t come forward or i’m gonna scream for help. help, help! i’m being held hostage."

hongjoong almost rips out his hair. at the volume of his voice, the person living next door will really hear the fae’s cry. "seonghwa please, let me explain!"

seonghwa tugs on the rope on his hand, grumbling. "i should've believed san—no, i should've left when you pulled out the ramen cooker! what kind of warlock uses kitchenware to conjure a spell?"

"in my defense, i saw it on youtube." hongjoong crosses his arms.

"were you even sure about what you put in there?"

"of course!" the warlock rubs the back of his head and laughs nervously. "well i wasn't sure if it's the pink or green oil but—"

"i knew it!" seonghwa groans. then points a finger. "you...you're a terrible warlock."

"i’m aware." hongjoong cries back with the same level of distress.

"where's my clothes?" there's a tremble on the fae's lips when he points at him again in horror. "d-did we..."

"no, for the last time nothing happened." hongjoong inhales sharply, and closes his eyes. "i accidentally fucked up the potion then you started acting weirdly smooching on me, and water was flowing _everywhere_ so i gave you some sleeping powder before you do something we'll both regret but then you vomited so i had to change your clothes." he says in one breath.

the warlock isn’t entirely sure if seonghwa caught on with his outburst, but the latter seems to be equally flustered at his words when he splutters.

"i-i what? smooch? how?"

"you were all over me, and you..." it's the frustration that made hongjoong have the surge of bravery to continue, "you tried to kiss me!"

"what?!"

"i promise it's all an accident!"

seonghwa opens his mouth. closes it again. he’s speechless. they both are. hongjoong just accepts his fate. he’s half expecting the fae to retaliate, scream at him again and flood his entire room again because really, it’s what he deserves. what seonghwa shouldn't be doing is pouting and pulling out a soft voice to tell him, "i'm sorry if i tried to uhm, harass you. i didn't hurt you or anything right?"

hongjoong stares disbelievingly at him. fuck seonghwa is an angel. a god-sent literal angel to even forgive him after the chaos he just caused.

"you didn't." he answers back.

"also i didn't mean to call you terrible," seonghwa continues. "i got carried away. it's partly my fault, i was desperate i didn't even look into this whole thing well, and i'm…” a sigh, “I’m just sorry."

"hey it's okay." hongjoong cuts him off with a pout. "i shouldn't have even tried. half of the time i didn't even know what i was doing." hongjoong admits defeatedly.

there's a pregnant silence between the two of them as they avoid each other's gazes, seemingly flustered at the actions they've caused. hongjoong just thanks whatever god is up there that they somehow, finally settled their little dispute. but that doesn't guarantee he will be on the fae’s good side after it.

his life is just getting horrible.

"but really, was it necessarily to tie me down?" seonghwa raises his hand.

"you were aggressive!"

"sorry! i swear i couldn't remember what happened."

there’s shy glances between them when hongjoong hesitantly approaches the other to help him untie the rope. seonghwa stands up and the warlock can confirm the other is back on his normal self when he sees the original chocolate eyes and hair.

"if it makes it any better, i had my roommate buy some proper confidence potion.” he says while walking seonghwa out of his room. “he’s on his way now so you can still use it tomorrow. it's the least i could do?"

seonghwa huffs. laughs. "fine."

as if on cue, the door slams open and yunho shows up with a grin on his face and arms wide open acting like a whole parade is ready to welcome him. hongjoong sighs. every damn time.

"what is up party people, yunho in the h—what the fuck happened here?"

from the corner of his eye he could see seonghwa eyeing his friend weirdly. totally understandable. hongjoong just facepalms himself before scrambling up to snatch the box from his roomie. "welcome, yunho. now please do me a favour and go lock yourself in your room."

seonghwa stands up which unfortunately catches yunho’s attention and yunho, still not reading the room, points at seonghwa and grins at him.

"shit joong, is that the fae you've had a crush on for months?"

hongjoong gapes. right now he's pondering on two options. either A, he shoves his fist down yunho's throat until he shuts up for good; or B, he storms out the room, book himself a flight to New Zealand, live as a cow farmer and hopefully never hear from seonghwa again as he cries about his dead love life.

yunho doesn't stop there and moves past him, stretching his hand. "hi I’m yunho! i've heard so much about you. it's nice to finally meet you! did you know hongjoong here has a picture of you on hi—"

hongjoong quickly places his hand over his friend’s mouth. unbeknownst to both of them, there was still some leftover sleeping powder on his fingers—the one he used to sedate seonghwa earlier—so it comes to a shock when yunho crashes on the floor the next second with a loud thud. well, that's going to hurt a lot when he wakes up.

when he looks in front of him, seonghwa has his jaw dropped.

"that was yunho, my roommate." hongjoong says casually like he didn't just accidentally send his friend collapsing on the ground.

"do you usually drug your friends for your convenience?" seonghwa asks worriedly.

"i don't! h-he's just being extra annoying today." hongjoong counters defensively. great, now seonghwa know about his crush _and_ thinks he's some psychopath. yes, keep the luck coming universe.

thankfully for both of them, seonghwa pretends he doesn’t hear anything and just points at potion box on his hand. "i believe that's mine."

"oh, right, here." the warlock hands him the box. there's a miniscule of sparks when their fingers brush against each other, but hongjoong keeps it to himself. "well i guess that's us. i hope i didn't make you want to leave the town. i’m harmless most of the time."

"i was considering it."

they burst into a fit of laughter. if he failed to impress seonghwa as a potion craftsman then he’ll at least worm into his heart as a friend. though that doesn't erase the fact seonghwa just found out about his big, fat crush on him so hongjoong still kind of wants to cry.

"hey, seonghwa I’m sorry." he says.

"it's alright." the fae's ears perk up. "just hope the next time we meet it's in better circumstances."

just when seonghwa’s about to leave, there's shuffling from his apartment that made the two of them look back at the doorway. yunho is there crawling—more like dragging his body across the floor—eyes still heavy from the sleeping spell.

"d-duuude, ask him out what the fuck." the taller yawns before his face falls flat on the floor again snoring.

yeah, hongjoong needs to stage an intervention for his friend's big fucking mouth. right now moving to New Zealand seems like a very attractive choice and he's pretty sure he's blushing like a fucking tomato in front of the man his trusty friend just told him to ask out. it's seonghwa clearing his throat that has him snapping from his thoughts and looking up.

"y-you have something to ask me?" the brunette timidly asks.

is this what he thinks it means? then hongjoong decides, after the catastrophe that happened today, fuck it. he already embarrassed himself enough, what's a little rejection going to do? yes, hongjoong will probably cry a little (read: a lot) and binge watch dramas till he gets over it but he might as well use up the small to non-existent chance he has left with seonghwa.

"so i was wondering," hongjoong starts, rubbing the back of his nape. "would you like to go out with me for some coffee tomorrow? well it's okay if it's not tomorrow maybe some time your free or..."

"i hate coffee." seonghwa deadpans.

"me too." hongjoong says right away. he totally doesn't. at some point coffee comprised at least half of his system. "how about blueberry cheese cake at Sweetener's?" he tries again.

"allergic to blueberries, sorry."

"dinner at the Tavern?"

"can't do pork, on a diet."

"oh, c'mon!"

seonghwa’s laugh ring in his ears. just when hongjoong thought he permanently blew his chances of romance, the fae takes a glittery pen tucked in his pocket and taking hongjoong’s hand, scribbles something on it.

"be glad i’ve been crushing on you too since i moved here because I’m this close to rejecting you."

"w-what?" hongjoong splutters.

he looks down his arm and was expecting something like _'worst warlock ever'_ written in fat, red sharpie but instead he sees a bunch of numbers and a heart written prettily on his skin and he wants to combust.

holy shit.

there's a panicked expression on seonghwa's face. "just call me before i change my mind!"

when he gets back in his apartment, hongjoong may or may not have danced with his wand on hand, twirling and flicking it like musician’s stick. he's also too happy to care about the spells that randomly spew from it. so if he accidentally turns their entire kitchen wallpaper neon orange or why yunho's favorite curtain is now a giant skirt, that's his problem later.

because he's got a date with the prettiest fae park seonghwa and it's all that matters.

_"seonghwa, i like you."_

_"did you swallow a confidence potion for that?"_

_"...probably?"_

_"god, you're a terrible warlock." seonghwa scoots closer and plants a kiss on his cheek. "but i like you too."_

**[a clash of confessions and cliches](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25824412) **

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you can support my main seongjoong fic ‘clash of confessions and cliché’. link is https://archiveofourown.org/works/25824412
> 
> let me know how u guys like this in the comments and maybe if u have any prompt ideas, you can leave it down too. i might write it :D
> 
> THANXX FOR READING THIS!


End file.
